Can Real Madrid Still Win La Liga After Mallorca?

Real Madrid title hopes are under pressure after defeat at Mallorca. The loss could shape the race from here. Here's why that matters.

 

Real Madrid’s title charge is starting to look like bad theatre.

You cannot call yourself serious title contenders, turn up with all that talent, and lose 2-1 to a side sitting just above the drop. Not now.

Not with Barcelona waiting for any slip.

Real Madrid had the early kick-off, the chance to apply pressure, and still found a way to turn control into panic.

That is the part that should worry Madrid fans most.

This was not a game Mallorca dominated. It was a game they survived, then stole from a side that kept wasting its authority. 

Kylian Mbappe had his moments. Arda Guler had a look. Real moved the ball, built pressure and created enough before the break to be ahead. 

But Leo Roman kept shutting the door, and Madrid kept acting like the goal would arrive because it usually does.

Football does not work like that. Not in April.

Then Mallorca punished them. 

Pablo Maffeo got the ball down the right, delivered into the box, and Manu Morlanes did the rest just before half-time. 

One touch to settle himself. One finish into the bottom corner. Simple. 

Real Madrid’s defending there was far too easy to play through. 

When a team fighting relegation can hurt you with that little fuss, questions need asking.

And yes, some of those questions should go straight to the big names.

Mbappe was dangerous, but dangerous is not the same as decisive. 

Guler was lively, but lively is not the same as productive. 

Real Madrid had the ball, the shots and the reputation, yet too many of their attacks ended with Mallorca’s goalkeeper looking like the calmest man in the stadium. 

Real had 15 shots and only scored from a set-piece. For a side chasing the title, that is not pressure. That is expensive noise.

Then came the tease. Eder Militao rose in the 88th minute and powered home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner to make it 1-1. 

At that point, Real Madrid should have taken the point at worst and maybe even pushed for the winner. 

Instead, they switched off again. 

Vedat Muriqi slammed in the winner in stoppage time, and suddenly all that late Madrid drama worked in reverse.

Real Madrid did the hard part late, then forgot the basics immediately after. That is amateur stuff in a designer kit.

The table makes it sting even more. Real stay second and four points behind Barcelona after failing to take advantage of the early slot. 

Barca now get the chance to stretch the gap further when they face Atletico later on Saturday. 

Mallorca, meanwhile, move two points clear of the relegation zone and give every team down there a reason to believe survival will be a fight to the end.

If you backed Madrid to win this, that slip was not bad luck. It was blind faith.

Now the pressure shifts everywhere. 

Barcelona have been handed a gift. Atletico have another reason to fancy making this race messier. 

And Mallorca have shown that survival scraps are often decided by belief, not beauty.

Madrid now head into a Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich looking wounded, frustrated and a bit soft in the head. That is not ideal.

So here’s the question: if Real Madrid cannot handle Mallorca with a title race on the line, why should anyone trust them when Bayern come calling?